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So, we’ve gone through all the pre-show stuff. And then we get to sit and watch an episode of Let’s Make a Deal (while talking to each other, of course).

B and Jaime haven’t seen tons of Let’s Make a Deal, so they’re getting a chance to study a bit, and we go over game theory (or at least as much of it as you can have when it comes to a show that has so much based on chance).

It hardly feels like any time passes before we get some talks from different people about the day, and what to expect.

After a person from on-camera-audiences gives us the first spiel, Jason goes up there and gives his lively speech about what contestants should or should not do. In some ways it’s confusing. For instance, he says not to flirt with Wayne. But I watch the show, and people flirt with Wayne all the time.

Maybe he was just meaning don’t overdo it (though I’ve seen people flirting pretty hard). Or maybe they’re trying to tone it down this season… though Wayne always seems pretty into it… Of course, he is a professional improviser, so maybe he just goes with the flow no matter what…

This specific part doesn’t matter much to me, as I have no plans to flirt with Wayne the show (if I were to ever get picked to play a game with him). I’m just saying that was one example of something I thought I’d seen on the show, but that they didn’t want us to do.

Also, we were reminded it was a daytime show. But when we got in the taping, one of the first things that happened with Wayne and Jonathan was them making a non-daytime-friendly joke. Of course, they’re the talent and work outside of restrictions we’re being given as contestants. And if the producers think they’re getting too-nighttime with things, stuff can always be edited out.

But the point is, the speech just confused me, as it seemed contradictory to both things I’d seen on the show, and things I was experiencing that day.

Anyway, so we’re told how to act and how not to act. You can tell that Jason loves giving his speech. And why wouldn’t he? If I got to give a silly speech everyday where I got to dance, have fun, and interact with people, I’d be super into it too.

We’re also told we’re gonna be watched the whole time, and that we need to be animated if we want to be chosen.

Soon enough, we go in the studio. Jaime and B and I are seated in the center. Wow, no more time out for me! (I sat in the corner during Price is Right.)

After everyone is seated a supervising producer comes out and gives us all another talk – which is where I’ll pick up next time.

I asked this question on one of your “The Price Is Right” posts, but I don’t know how often you read comments on old posts, so this seems like as good a place as any to ask it again, and also to ask two additional questions, and to answer one of yours:

1.) You said winners can turn down any prize, but does that apply to components of a prize? For instance, on Thursday’s episode of TPIR, a guy from Phoenix won a trip to New Mexico. Would he have been allowed to say, “I’ll take the hotel room and the Jeep tour, but rather than fly all the way back to LA just to fly out to New Mexico, I’ll just drive to New Mexico?” Or is a “take the whole prize or none of it” kind of deal?

2.) What’s the lag time between taping and airing? I’ve never seen a taping of TPIR or “Let’s Make a Deal,” but I have seen a taping of “Jeopardy!” in about mid-February for a show that aired in early June. And I know they were taping “Wheel of Fortune” simultaneously for the same period. (So I always laugh when I see the Christmas week episodes, knowing they’re actually being recorded around late August.)

3.) How many complete episodes do they film per day? Again, with “Wheel” and “Jeopardy!” they film an entire week’s worth on one day. So the audience you’re hearing applaud on Wednesday night is actually the same audience you heard on Monday. Indeed, Wednesday’s audience will even include the people who lost on Monday and Tuesday, and the people who are going to be contestants on Thursday and Friday. Thursday and Friday’s audiences are generally a little smaller, because after the third (Wednesday) episode is taped, they break for lunch, and a shuttle takes contestants and their friends and family back to the hotel, and people who lost generally don’t come back after lunch.

Now, I am asking about COMPLETE episodes, because many years ago, I saw a taping of – coincidentally enough – “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and while they only taped essentially one episode, they also did a bunch of what are called “throws,” which would be coming back from commercial, where Drew was standing in the audience and said, “Let’s play some more!” and ran back on stage. And they did about a dozen of those at one taping. I’m sure they probably do a bunch of Quick Cash on LMAD or similar throws and what-not on TPIR, and I’m not asking about that.

As for the question I can answer, as someone who has never hosted nor produced a game show, but who has hosted a ton of improv shows with similar rules, we don’t actually mind if women flirt with the male hosts – Wayne or Jonathan, in this case. We SAY “don’t flirt” to discourage men from flirting with Tiffany – or even, in some cases, Wayne or Jonathan – and being really creepy about it, because if you allow flirting, either tacitly or explicitly, creepy guys will take it as an engraved invitation to be super-creepy. And the thing is, for some weird reason, creepiness tends to go hand-in-hand with a persecution complex. So if you have some guy creeping up on Tiffany, and you stop the show and say, “Hey, c’mon, man, too much,” they’ll get really angry and say, “Well, you didn’t say anything about HER when she was flirting with Wayne!” Whereas at least if you establish up front it’s not allowed – even knowing full well you’re going to look the other way when a septuagenarian lady asks Wayne for a kiss – you can shut down the guys, and they’ll be slightly less belligerent (although they’ll still be a little belligerent).

Hey Tony! Sorry I didn’t answer earlier. I was with limited internet. But enough with the excuses, let’s get to the answers! 🙂

1) That’s a great question and I’m sorry to say I don’t know the answer. If you find out, I’d be very interested in hearing it.

2) It can really depend. I’m pretty sure My Price is Right aired a little over a month after it taped. On the other hand, the wait time for my Let’s Make a Deal episode is scheduled at 5 months (set to air February 12). I’ve heard from people on both shows having longer or shorter time windows. So, I think it depends on a number of factors. (For instance, my Price is Right was bumped one day by a show where a girl won a very expensive car on Three Strikes. So, if something spectacular and unexpected happens in an episode, it may be moved for different purposes. Sorry I don’t have a better more concrete answer.

No worries about the delay. I had Internet problems myself from just after Christmas to just after New Years. Thanks for replying!

Although I guess your answer does raise a follow-up question. Given they don’t necessarily record in order, and they film two a day, do you know if those are typically consecutive? In other words, if I watch Monday through Friday, will I more often than not see the same audience on Tuesday as on Monday, on Thursday as on Wednesday and on next Monday as on Friday? Or do they mix it up more?

(On “Jeopardy!” it IS consecutive, for obvious reasons. I don’t know if that’s the case for “Wheel.”)

Hey Tony, I’m unsure for Price. But on Let’s Make a Deal, it seems like the 1st show of the day will come well earlier in the season (sometimes months earlier). So, if you want to wait the least amount of time between tape and air date, I’d go to the morning show, at least on Let’s Make a Deal. (And I have no idea why they do it that way.)